What kind of computer should I buy?

If your budget can manage it, the $999 MacBook is great for people with a creative streak. It is loaded with software to organize your photos, edit home videos, make music and more.

If your budget can manage it, the $999 MacBook is great for people with a creative streak. It is loaded with software to organize your photos, edit home videos, make music and more. (HANDOUT/Apple Computer)

Q: I need to get a new computer. One for the poor person with a rich person's taste. What do you recommend?

-- Regina, Oak Park

A: I'll see your question and raise you two: What do you want to do with it? And how much do you want to spend? The more you want to do with your computer, the more you'll pay for processor speed, graphic cards and other shiny things.

If you use your computer now mostly to update Facebook, play Farmville, download and listen to music, the computer you need will cost a lot less than if you were constantly editing long videos or producing a score for a community theater troupe.

Also, you'll get more for your money if you buy a desktop, but most people like the portability of a notebook computer or even a mini-laptop. Knowing what you want out of your computer will help determine how much you pay.

Q: Surf the web, do Farmville, watch movies, download music (I think; is that the same as burning CDs into a library, then syncing them to my MP3 player?), use Microsoft Word and Excel, download pictures from a camera (well, my niece and sister do that for me).

A: OK, how much are you willing to spend?

Q: Cheap! Cheap! Poor person with a rich person's taste, remember?

A: Right. So, let's see what we can do in the $350 to $800 range.

For someone in your shoes, the most important thing to spend money on is RAM. I like the way Gordon Ung, senior editor at Maximum PC (maximumpc.com puts it: "PCs pull on three levers to get more cash out of you: CPU, hard drive and RAM. RAM is certainly important, but once you get to a decent amount, 4GB or 6GB, I'd rather put the cash toward a faster CPU, bigger hard drive or more powerful graphics card than going to 12GB of RAM."

Instead of listing models, I'll rank some specs to look for in a computer for the average person, such as you:

Price

The most RAM you can afford (don't settle for less than 2 gigabytes)

At least a 14- or 15-inch display, to really enjoy your DVDs

A DVD-RW drive, which can play DVDs as well as burn rewritable disks

At least 3 USB 3.0 inputs (make sure they are USB 3.0 inputs)

Battery life of at least 4 hours

Q: Do I need to know what any of these specs mean or can I take them to the store and say, "Give me this"?

Do you have a tech question? Send a note to Eric Gwinn at egwinn@tribune.com, or use this form. Be sure to include your name, location and a way to reach you if we need more information -- and your question, of course.